He’s climbed Everest and visited some of the most dangerous countries. But while filming the latest series of Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild the presenter feared for his life
Adventurer Ben Fogle feared he would be killed when he joined a Nomadic woman trekking along the hard shoulder of a US freeway with her menagerie for his latest TV show. Empty nest syndrome after her children left home compelled pink wagon dweller Randilyn – who travels with a pigeon coop, and animals including chickens, dogs and donkeys – to seek an alternative lifestyle.
For five years, she’s travelled freely across Missouri, making and selling leather goods at the roadside to finance her meagre needs and chopping pigeons heads off when she fancies eating meat. But when Ben, 52 – known for feats including climbing Everest, racing 500 miles across Antarctica and running the 160 mile Sahara Desert Marathon Des Sables – joined her ramshackle convoy, he thought he might die.
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Dragging her pigeon wagon along the hard shoulder, as cars and lorries sped past, he says: “‘It was the most dangerous thing I have ever done and that’s saying something!’ He meets Randilyn, a former aircraft mechanic, when she is camped with her animals in a peaceful spot, where she catches and kills a pigeon, which she cooks for their dinner.
But the silence is broken the following day, when she decides it’s time to travel south and packs everything up – tasking Ben with pulling the remaining pigeons along in a homemade wagon.
The next night they camp in a far less idyllic spot in a drainage ditch beside a petrol station, having faced obstacles like an abandoned car on the hard shoulder, which they had to walk around – stepping into the inside lane of the freeway at rush hour.
They were also flagged down by the police – leaving Ben fully anticipating a night in the cells. He says: “Last night was nuts. Walking along the highway. Rush hour. Trucks whooshing past just feet from us. And then a police car came along. I thought that was it. I was gonna end up in a cell. And a big cheery face went, ‘is everything okay? Can I help? Do you need anything?’
“He [the police officer] basically offered just to keep an eye on us while we walked that final distance, till we got off the highway.” Describing Randilyn’s lifestyle, he continues: “It’s just bizarre.”
Shoving roadkill aside as they resume their trek along the hard shoulders of the county, Ben also washes his hair in full view of the traffic, using powdered clay. Calling herself a “modern day pioneer,” Randilyn says her route is somewhat dictated by the land she is permitted to live on.
But while she travels alone, she has a phone powered by satellite charger, and can call friends she’s made on her journeys for help if she needs it. And she is not averse to asking if she can use people’s bathrooms to shower. While her calmness impresses him, as they continue to proceed in a caravan along the freeway, Ben’s face is stricken with fear,
He says: “I have a friend who was struck and nearly killed on the side of an American highway. So, for me, the danger just feels uncomfortably close. I don’t think I’ll ever shake the inherent danger of travelling like this.”
*Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild episode 6 airs on Tuesday on 5 at 10pm
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